P1 million in jewelry stolen

CEBU, Philippines - Burglars got away with over a million pesos worth of assorted jewelry after breaking into the house of a hotelier in an exclusive subdivision in Barangay Suba-Basbas, Lapu-Lapu City, Thursday afternoon.

Senior Inspector Alcon Escosura, chief of the Lapu-Lapu City Marigondon Police Station, said that on Thursday afternoon German national Dietmar Peter and his wife came to their station to report that their house had been burgled.

The robber escaped with P15,000 cash from the house of the couple who was not around when it happened.

It was when police came to investigate the house of the couple that they also learned that the house of their next-door neighbor Teresa Laurete had also been burglarized.

Escosura said that the robber destroyed the padlock of the front gate of the house and also unscrewed the grills of a window to enter the room of Laurete where the jewelry was.

Escosura said the robber may have taken time to familiarize himself with the routine of the victims and struck when he knew they would not be around.

“Naa’y allegation ang silingan nga naa kuno’y nagsige ug tuyok-tuyok diha sa lugar nga usa ka white pickup days before the incident, mao na amo gi-imbestigahan karon,” Escosura said.

Escosura added that they may have a hard time determining the plate number of the white pick-up since the security in the main gate of the subdivision could not record video.

“Ang ilang rason kay upat daw ka gate ang ilang gibantayan. Sa kana ka dako nga subdivision wherein houses cost at least P5,000,000 kulang ra kaayo ang ilang security measures,” Escosura added.

There was also no roving guard tasked by the subdivision, according to Escosura. (FREEMAN)